Saints hold off Linn-Benton with 3s

Mt. Hood men stay in the chase for the South Region title

The Mt. Hood CC mens basketball team let the long-ball fly Saturday, connecting on better than half their attempts from beyond the 3-point arc in an 88-80 home win over last-place Linn-Benton.

The Saints appeared to have the game in hand after Landon Rushton drilled 3s from each corner of the court to put Mt. Hood up 62-50 midway through the second half. Rushton finished with 17 points on 5-of-8 (.625) shooting from deep.

I worked on getting my feet set and being ready to fire and it worked out for me, Rushton said.

The Roadrunners put together a late run, trimming the margin to five points after Braden Monnot converted an alley-oop with 3:12 to play.

But the Saints relied on the 3 to turn away the threat with Barlow High graduate Brock Otis knocking down a pair to rebuild the lead to 10 points as the clock rolled under a minute. Otis led Mt. Hood with 27 points, going 5 for 9 (.555) from beyond the arc. Blake Updike added 16 points.

The Saints (18-6) are in a three-way tie for third in the South Region  one game behind the league leaders  heading into a key showdown at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at fellow contender Clackamas CC.